


A Man in His Time Will Play Many Parts

by WonTon_Lady



Category: Arrow (TV 2012), DC Cinematic Universe, DCU, DCU (Comics)
Genre: F/M, Gen, One Shot Collection, dcu one shots, it's just fluff, not so platonic, oliver gets punched in the face, platonic
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-03-23
Updated: 2016-05-01
Packaged: 2018-05-28 15:28:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,677
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6334390
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WonTon_Lady/pseuds/WonTon_Lady
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Her name is Maggie. Maggie is just your ordinary art student working every free minute she gets to pay for school and save up for a trip around the world. However, her normal life is about to suddenly change. After an incident in a coffee shop in late November, Maggie discovers that she has the ability to transport herself to an alternate universe. Unfortunately, she has no idea how to stop it or how to control where or when she leaves.</p><p>This is the story of Maggie Reneau and her unplanned adventures in the DC Universe.</p><p>(I own none of these characters, except Maggie.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

It was late Saturday night and I was busy in my office at Queen Consolidated organizing papers and filing them where they needed to be. I reached into my mulberry leather bag for my cell phone, the gold honeycomb case shining under the dim light of my desk lamp. The time read 11:23. Perfect, another extremely late night at the office.

I sighed as I returned my phone to its pocket in my bag and picked it up along with a stack of files I planned to take home with me. I had just turned off the lights and locked the door of my office when I turned and nearly walked into a tall study figure.

Oliver Queen looked down at me, a smirk painted on his face.

“You’re here rather late, Oliver,” I tried to say as casually as possible. I’ve known him for years yet somehow I still manage to feel incredibly awkward and nervous around him.

“So are you,” he said. He raised a perfect gold eyebrow as he looked down at the files in my arms.

I shifted the files awkwardly in my arms, “I’ve had a lot of work to catch up on,”

“Well, I brought you some coffee. I figured maybe you’d want an extra set of eyes to help you go over those.”

I felt a blush creeping up my neck but ignored it.

“That’s very nice of you, but I should really be –“

Oliver stuck a mug of coffee in front of me, cutting me off mid sentence. He gave me a small smile and nodded towards the door, “Come on, Maggie. It’s a nice night and I brought your favorite. Chocolate salted caramel with an extra pump of chocolate.”

It was my turn to raise an eyebrow at him, “How did you remember that?”

He shrugged, his form fitting black coat bunching around his muscular shoulders, “I have a good memory.”

I looked at the coffee in his hand, then at the files I was holding in my arms, and finally up into Oliver’s pleading bright blue eyes. I sighed.

“Fine,” I said.

Oliver’s smile grew wide after I accepted his offer.

“Great! Here, let’s trade.”

He set the two cups he was holding down on the table outside my office then took the files from me.

“Follow me,” he said, a giant smile still covering his stubbly face.

He led me down a long, brightly lit hallway ending in a staircase leading up. He looked back to make sure I was still following then started to make his way up the stairs. I said a silent prayer hoping that I wouldn’t spill coffee all over my new black and white striped blouse then followed him up the stair case, which was much steeper than I had expected.

 I was greeted with a cool breeze when I finally made it to the top. Oliver was holding the door open for me and nodded for me to step outside. A breathtaking sight of the city greeted me once I stepped over the threshold. The city lights were twinkling and I could see the traffic slowly going by down below. The smell of fresh pastries and bread from the bakery a few blocks over tickled my nose.

“I’ve never seen the city like this, at least not from this high up.” I looked over at Oliver who was now sitting on a bench facing the city, the stack of files on the ground near his feet.

“Not bad, huh?” He smiled at me again.

I made my way over to Oliver and passed him the coffee cup with his name on it then took a seat next to him on the bench. We sat in silence for a few minutes just watching the city lights. With him sitting this close to me, I could smell his scent of clover and honey and just a bit of coffee.

“How’s the coffee, Maggie?” Oliver asked, finally breaking the silence.

“It’s perfect. Thanks, Oliver.” I looked at him and smiled and he gave me a small smile in return.

I turned my attention back to the view and took a sip of my drink. A few minutes passed again in silence and I completely forgot about the files sitting at our feet.

“So I wanted to talk to you about something,” Oliver had set his empty coffee cup down next to the files and was awkwardly rubbing the back of his neck. His face was completely serious, the first time his face was without a smile since he met me outside my office.

“Yes?” I said, my heart was beating so fast I was afraid he could hear it. What could he possibly want to talk to me about?

“We’ve been friends for years. Even back before I got back from the island and I was awful –“ Oliver took a slight pause when he mentioned this, a frown darkening his face, then continued “- What I’m trying to say is that you’ve always been there for me, even at my worst.”

He looked at me his jaw clenched and blue eyes locked onto my own.

“Of course, Oliver. You’re my friend.”

“I know. And I appreciate your friendship, but I –” he looked away from me and bit his lip, as if he was searching for the right words to say.

“Oliver..?”

I watched him take a deep breath, as if he was mentally preparing himself for something. Then he turned to me and took my cup out of my hands and set it down next to his. I felt his warm hands cup my face, the calluses at the tips of his fingers scratching my jaw, then his soft lips pressed into mine.

He pulled away quickly, retracting his hands from my face and placing them on his lap. His eyes were wide and his jaw was clenched again, as if he felt like he made a mistake. I was stunned. This was not at all what I had anticipated when I got out of bed this morning. I gulped and did the one thing I have wanted to do for years.

I punched Oliver Queen.

“Ow!” we were standing in front of each other now next to the bench, Oliver cupping his face where I had hit him.

“What else were you expecting, Oliver?” my hands were balled into fists at my side, I was fuming.

“Not this, definitely not this.” He looked away from me and combed his fingers through his short dirty blond locks, “I don’t understand what I did wrong.”

“First of all,” I pointed a finger in the air, “you brought this completely out of nowhere. Second,” I pointed another finger, “we’ve known each other for years, _years_ Oliver. And now, after everything – everything you’ve told me, after you asked me to help you with your last girl friend – you do this?”

“That’s not fair, I only dated her because I thought you… I thought you loved Thomas, but then you two broke up and Felicity mentioned –”

I shot him a death glare when he mentioned Felicity’s name.

“What did Felicity tell you?”

He shifted his weight uncomfortably. “Well, everything…”

I groaned and sat back down on the bench, covering my face with my hands.

Oliver carefully took a seat next to me.

“I’m sorry Maggie, really. I should have gone about this differently. But after Felicity told me about how you felt and I realized there was a chance, I tried to wait as long as I could but I couldn’t wait any longer. You two were together for almost three years and it’s only been six months since you two –“

I looked up at him and frowned.

“I really care about you, Maggie. You have no idea how much I –” his eyes were desperately searching mine as he was fighting to get the words he was thinking out, “I love you, okay? I always have. It’s taken a really long time to realize that but I have and I really hope it’s not too late.”

He made a move to reach for my hands but he stopped himself.  We sat there for a few moments watching each other. I let out a deep breath and closed my eyes for a second then opened them. Oliver was still watching me, waiting for my answer.

I reached up and placed my hand on his cheek and he closed his eyes and leaned into it, his stubble scratching the palm of my hand.

“Oliver…”

I mustered all of my courage and did what I felt like my heart wanted me to do. I leaned in and gently kissed Oliver. I felt him tense from surprise, but he soon melted into the kiss. He cupped my face in his hands and pulled me just a bit closer to him. I broke the kiss but kept my face close to his, my eyes just slightly open. I saw him smile and couldn’t help but smile back.

“Oliver Queen, you’re ridiculous.” I laughed as he kissed my cheek, his stubble tickling my face.

“Well so are you, Maggie Reneau.”

Oliver kissed me again, and this time I wrapped my arms around his neck, pulling him closer to me. Our mouths moved together slowly at first then began to speed up. When I parted my mouth to deepen the kiss, Oliver responded eagerly and followed my lead, his hands moving down to my waist to pull me even closer to him. I traced his bottom lip with my tongue before his tangled with mine, hungry to explore every inch of each other’s mouths.

Our lips smacked when we finally broke apart, our faces flushed and eyes a bit glazed over. Oliver chuckled softly and rested his head on my shoulder.

“I never thought I would actually be able to do that.”

He kissed my cheek again then looked at me, his smile still spread on his face. I realized that I was grinning looking at him.

“Neither did I,”

He gave me a quick peck on the lips and looked down at his watch.

“I should probably walk you home now, It’s really late.”

“Sure, but you’re not staying over.”

“I wasn’t expecting to.”

We were still grinning at each other.

“Come on,” he said finally, then reluctantly let go of me to pick up the files on the ground.

I followed his lead and grabbed our empty coffee cups. We stood there for a second looking at each other. I wanted to remember Oliver like this forever. The smile on his face that was so genuine I could even see it in his eyes, the lights of the city casting shadows on the hollows of his cheeks, over his scruffy facial hair… I stood up on my tiptoes to give him a final peck on the cheek before turning around and making my way to the door that lead back to the building.

I looked over my shoulder and raised an eyebrow in his direction, “Going to stand out there forever, Oliver?”

 He smiled and shook his head, then followed me back into the building.

 

"We should meet for breakfast tomorrow morning," Oliver said after we entered the lobby of my apartment, "We could go to that bakery a few blocks down. I heard they make amazing pancakes and scones."

I hugged my files close to my chest and bit my lip, contemplating his offer.

"That actually sounds really nice," I said finally, "I would love to go."

He smiled back (So many smiles tonight), "Great, I'll pick you up first thing tomorrow."

He waited until the light in my apartment window flicked on to get into his car and leave. I watched from the window and waved goodbye before he drove away. 

 _This coming year is going to be the best one yet_ , I thought to myself, _I just know it._

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The snow is falling, December is here. The past few weeks have been wonderful for Maggie. She has a good job, an amazing boyfriend that brings her coffee every morning, a lazy but lovable puppy, and an apartment with a spectacular view of Star City at night. Luck, however, is no longer on Maggie's side.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is very short (sorry!) but I do have great plans for this story so try to stick with me!
> 
> Comments are always appreciated, I hope you enjoy!

Four weeks have passed since the incident on the roof, each day consisting of either a smiling Oliver Queen waiting outside my apartment to take me to work, his blonde hair streaked with gold from the light of the sun rising behind him as he leaned on his car, or a piping hot cup of coffee and a blueberry scone sitting on my desk with an apology note. Oliver, being the head of a company and all, was usually tied up in meetings or away on business most days, which I understood.

All things considering, everything was going perfect.

It was a Friday night in mid December and I was busy cooking away in the kitchen. Sheep, my three year old westie, was asleep on his bed underneath the kitchen island, his chew toy still hanging from his mouth. I had just popped the chicken and the peach cobbler back into the oven to keep them warm when I heard a knock at the door. I kicked the door of the oven closed with my heel as I peeled off my oven mitts and placed them in the drawer near the stove then quickly trotted over to the front door.

Oliver was standing in the carpeted hallway of my apartment building, a bouquet of pink carnations in hand and a smirk painted on his face. I stepped away from the entrance and motioned him in.

“It smells amazing in here,” He kissed me on the cheek and handed me the bouquet after I closed and locked the door behind us.

“The food’s ready, I just need to finish setting the table and then we can eat.”

Oliver followed me into the kitchen where I took a vase out of the cabinet below the sink for the flowers and he grabbed our wine glasses and dinner plates and walked over to the adjacent dining room.

“So how was work today?” I asked nonchalantly as I rearranged the carnations in their new vase.

Oliver shrugged as he reentered the kitchen and pulled open the silverware drawer.

“It was just another day. Another boring meeting, another lecture from Diggle that I don’t remember… I did however finally get a doughnut from that bakery in New York I was telling you about, I need to take you there sometime.” He walked over to me and kissed me on the lips. “It was magical, Maggie.”

I smiled and walked out of the kitchen towards the dining room with my flowers, “I’m sure it was, Oliver.”

Together we set the table and brought out dinner, Oliver kissing me at random moments as we did so. After the food was finished and the candles were completely burned down to the stub, I made coffee for the two of us to enjoy while we ate dessert.

 

“…and that is why I will never again set foot in to a movie rental store again.” I stabbed the air with my spoon to prove my point.

“The odds of that ever happening are one in a billion, Maggie,” Oliver laughed, “and it's 2015, I'm pretty sure they're all extinct by now.”

I shrugged and took another spoonful of cobbler. Sheep had migrated to the dining room to guilt us into sharing our dinner. After the food finished and he realized there was nothing left for him to beg for, he was now fast asleep once again beneath Oliver's chair.

“Exactly. The one's that are still around are super sketchy and therefore prove my argument,”

Oliver shook his head and took a sip of his coffee. Over the course of the evening I had noticed just how worn out Oliver looked. He had dark circled around his eyes that he had attempted – and failed – to cover, he winced when he sifted in his seat or laughed too hard, and overall seemed extremely tired.

“Are you feeling alright, Oliver?” I reached over and held Oliver’s hand in mine.

He smiled at me, the corners of his eyes crinkling in the corners, “I’m good. Tired, but good,” he tucked a loose strand of my hair back behind my ear with his free hand, “and happy.”

I didn’t completely believe him but I smiled anyway. “That’s good to hear. What did you think of the cobbler?” I pointed to his empty bowl, quickly changing the subject.

Oliver held his hands together in a prayer position and looked up at the ceiling, “Absolutely heavenly,”

 I rolled my eyes at him.

“It was amazing, all of this. Thank you,” he added.

I smiled and kissed him, “I’m glad you liked it.”

Oliver pushed away his empty bowl and coffee mug and shifted uncomfortably in his seat. He began to tap his fingers gently on the table as he looked up to me.

“I actually want to talk to you about something. I have been for a while, but I’ve never felt like the timing was right,”

I set down my coffee mug and turned to face him, my heart beating rapidly in my chest, “What is it?”

“You see, there are some things about me that you don’t know. When I’m out on business trips or have to go to late night meetings, I’m not always there. I mean, I usually am, but most nights I’m busy with something else.”

I raised an eyebrow at him, “What do you mean?”

Oliver combed his fingers though his hair.

“When I was on the island, I met a few people and that taught me things – how to survive, how to fight – and you see, now I –"

The empty bottle of wine suddenly shattered into pieces, showering is bits of glass. Everything after that was a blur. Oliver’s eyes were wide and I remember seeing his mouth form a word, most likely my name, but I couldn't make out what he was saying. He leaped out of his seat, his arms extended towards me. Everything was fuzzy and moved painfully slow. I watched as another glass shattered on the table and another. I looked down and saw that my new blue silk dress was stained with something warm and dark. Was that blood?

Suddenly, I was on the ground and Oliver was next to me, one hand pressed firmly against my left shoulder, the other holding his cell phone up to his ear.

“Thea, I need you and Laurel to come to Maggie’s apartment as fast as you can, we’re under attack. Maggie’s injured.”

The last thing I remember before blacking out was Oliver’s face and him promising that I would be okay.

 

 

 


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Maggie wakes up in a strange room in a strange new city to a life she has never lived but has evidence of living in! What's in store for her in this chapter???
> 
> This was a terrible summary, I am so sorry.

The tantalizing scent of frying butter and the rich aroma of freshly brewed coffee tickled my nose as I lay asleep in my warm bed. I pulled my duvet over my head and buried myself further into my sheets, but my iron will turned to Jell-O when I heard the crackling of bacon cooking on the griddle. I groaned and slowly opened my eyes.

I blinked away the last few traces of blurry sleep and took a look at my surrounding.

_I don’t remember buying that painting, maybe Oliver got it. It’s not really his style though… and when did we paint the walls –_

I shot up in bed, my eyes wide in panic. This was not my room. I threw off the floral patterned duvet and quickly looked around the room, hoping a clue would appear explaining where I was. My eyes fell on a collage of photos hanging above a sleek pine desk beside a window on the opposite side of the room.

Many of the photos were of me in places I have never even been to – me on a Ferris wheel eating cotton candy, several are of me and a woman with long dark hair, some show us laughing and enjoying a latte at a small coffee shop or sitting at a restaurant with a tall man with dark hair and glasses, another of me holding a newspaper and pointing at the front page, an ecstatic smile spread across my face.

This is impossible.

I closed my eyes and tried to keep my breathing as steady as I could. It was then that I heard a woman’s voice softly humming outside the door that I remembered I was not alone.

Quietly, I tiptoed over to the door and cracked open the door to peak outside.

A woman in a tweed pencil skirt and loose fitting white blouse was maneuvering around the kitchen, her dark hair in a tight French twist with a pencil stuck into it. The radio on the counter was playing a song that I didn’t recognize but she seemed to be very familiar with it.

She turned in the direction of my hiding place and I recognized her as being the woman in the photos in the collage.

I took another deep breath and willed myself to exit the room. I needed to find out what was happening, and the only way to do that was to speak with this mysterious woman cooking pancakes and bacon in front of me.

I stepped into the kitchen and she immediately acknowledged my presence with a smile.

“Happy Saturday, Maggie,” she took another look at me and frowned, “Why aren’t you dressed yet? We have a big story to cover today and Jimmy should be here any minute to pick us up.”

“I – well –”

She rolled her eyes and gestured a perfectly manicured nail towards a bistro dining table with three chairs near a set of patio doors. There were plates stacked with pancakes, bacon and scrambled eggs along with two full coffee mugs, a small pitcher of cream and a bowl of sugar.

“You can either eat now or change. I recommend you get dressed first.”

I nodded awkwardly and quickly walked back to the room I had woken up in. That conversation, if you can even call it a conversation, did not go as planned.

After quickly deciding on an outfit (a frilly white blouse, long floral skirt with matching blue heels and purse), I combed out my knotted auburn curls and painted on some red lipstick I found in one of the drawers on the desk.

This time, the woman from earlier was sitting at the table sipping her coffee as she listened to a man with bright orange hair, who I assumed must have been the Jimmy she mentioned earlier.

“… Clark said he’ll meet us there when he’s finished doing whatever he’s doing. By the way, Lois, these pancakes are amazing.”

The woman, Lois, smirked from behind her coffee cup.

“Thanks, it’s Bisquick.”

Jimmy laughed then took a sip of his own coffee. I walked over to the couple and took the seat closest to Lois.

“Good morning, Maggie.” Jimmy smiled at me, his hair a bright copper red in the morning light streaming from the windows.

“’Morning, Jimmy. How are you?” I tried to play it cool as I piled my plate with pancakes and eggs.

“I’m ready excited about this story. We’ll definitely be getting a spot on the front page.”

Lois rolled her eyes, “It’s about Superman, of course it’ll get the front page.”

I took a bite of pancake as I listened to them talk. _Who’s Superman?_ I thought to myself.

Jimmy looked down at his watch then clapped his hands together.

“Hurry up, girls. It’s already half past nine and our event starts at a quarter after ten. Any later and the only story we’re getting is from the hot dog vendor three blocks from the mayor’s office.”

“Got it,” Lois said then chugged the last bit of her coffee, “Hurry up Maggie, you’re so slow today.”

“Sorry,” I shoved one more bite of pancake and egg into my mouth and chased it down with a few drinks of my lukewarm coffee. I reached into my purse and found a small compact mirror and reapplied my lipstick.

We stood by the front door near the stairway and pulled on our thick winter coats and scarves, then braced ourselves for the cool weather awaiting us on the other side.

A flurry of wind and snow kissed my face when we stepped over the threshold. I blinked away the tears forming in my eyes from the cold and I looked around at the unfamiliar city, trying to find something that I recognized.

Only two buildings stood out from the blurry snow covered city; one window lined tower with a giant globe reading “THE DAILY PLANET” and another steel gray skyscraper with the words “LEX CORP” in bold across the front.

“Lois, Maggie. I parked on the corner over here.”

“Shotgun!” Lois exclaimed, bumping my hip with hers before she trotted through the snow ahead of Jimmy and I.

The three of us piled into Jimmy’s silver Volkswagen town car, shivering as we waited for the car’s heater to kick in.

“When we get there,” Jimmy started as the engine roared to life and he carefully began to drive through the snow,” Maggie and Clark will interview the mayor while you and I sneak into –”

“How about,” Lois interrupted, “we wing it and see what happens when we get there.”

“Lois, this is a big story, we need to have a plan or else we could completely ruin any chance we have of getting the pictures and the interviews we need. Our careers are at stake.”

“Calm down, Olsen. We’ve done this a thousand times, we’ll be fine.”

I turned my attention away from their conversation after Jimmy started ranting about how Lois never listens and how he should at the very least be rewarded with a coffee after all of this is over.

I turned to my attention back to my mission from this morning. I fished around my bag searching for an ID, a journal or anything that could give me a clue to what was going on. I found an old red leather wallet, a notepad, a pack of spearmint gum, tampons, and emergency candy bar, several movie tickets and a faded flyer from a concert with a phone number on the back. At the very bottom of the bag was an older model of a smart phone in a bright pink case. I said a silent prayer of thanks as I held it in my hands.

_Now what would the password be…_

I tried the password to my own phone. Nothing. My birthday. Nothing. I tried a fandom password and a few of my favorite desserts – nada. I sighed and closed my eyes.

_What could it possibly be? I’m not that complicated of a person, I’m a simple girl with simple tastes._

A lightbulb in my mind flashed as I remembered the flyer I had dug up from the purse. I typed in the number on the back of the paper and was thrilled to discover that it worked! I punched in Oliver’s phone number and eagerly held it to my ear as I waited for the dial tone.

“Good afternoon, this is the office of Connor Hawke of Queen Inc., how may I help you?”

_Connor Hawke? Queen Inc.? Is this some sort of joke?_

“Uh, it’s me, Maggie. I need to talk to Oliver, Oliver Queen can you get him on the line for me? It’s kind of important.”

“I’m sorry ma’am, but there is no Oliver Queen in our offices.”

“Okay, stop joking. This is very serious, I need to speak with Oliver, now. Just tell him who I am and–”

“I am sorry ma’am, but you must have the wrong office number.”

“No, this is Oliver’s number, can you just –”

I heard a click on the other end of the line and fell silent. What is happening?

 A strange nagging thought pushed its way into my mind, draining the color from my face.

“Lois,” I said, trying to swallow the panic rising in my chest, “What day is it today?”

“December 21, Maggie. It’s the big day, remember?”

“No, Lois. The year.”

“What?” Lois turned around in her seat to face me.

“What year is it?”

“It’s 2024. Are you feeling all right? Do you need something? Maggie?”

**Author's Note:**

> It has been a very long time since I've sat down to write anything (my first year of college has been crazy!). I should be posting on a regular basis now though since I'm ahead on my school work and I have a break coming up. Thank you for your patience! Let me know what you guys think of this one! I always appreciate your comments :3
> 
> Also, if you have any requests, please feel free to ask (I always love a challenge).


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